This week, Bedford Borough mayor Tom Wootton, the leader of Bedford Borough Council, the chief, the man in charge, where the buck stops, said a Best Value inspection of the authority is “very welcome support” as he called for the chief executive to resign.
Let’s be clear, a Best Value inspection is not something any council should want. It is one of the most serious forms of government intervention in local government, ordered when ministers believe there are serious concerns about how a council is being run.
And to use that moment to publicly go after the council’s most senior officer risks deepening division at exactly the time the borough needs partnership and stability.
Read: Bedford Borough mayor calls for CEO’s resignation over “systemic mismanagement” at council
The fact that Bedford Borough Council is now facing this intervention tells you one thing straight away: confidence in our council has been lost. This inspection is an embarrassment, and the reaction to it risks turning it into a humiliation.
But I’m going to say the part some people won’t like. It could also be exactly what Bedford needs, because what we’ve had for too long is not working.
Too much self before service
For too long, Borough Hall has felt like a place where politics comes first, and Bedford comes second, and it’s clear for all to see.
The constant sniping, the personal point-scoring, the narcissism, the blame culture. It is exhausting, corrosive, and not what public service is meant to be.
Councillors who have been around long enough to know the difference between robust debate and endless theatre have shared their worries with me, and they’re sick of it too.
When experienced people across the system start saying, quietly but firmly, that ego is edging out service, everyone should pay attention.
Some in that chamber seem to have forgotten the point of the job is to serve the public. Yet too often, it feels like self before service.
A Best Value inspection is meant to test whether a council is meeting its legal duty to deliver services that are efficient, effective and provide value for money. It puts leadership, governance, culture, financial management and service delivery under a microscope.
Read: What is a “best value” inspection – and why does it matter to Bedford?
In Bedford’s case, the inspection is set to run for three months. It will examine the council across seven areas, including leadership, governance, culture and the use of resources, and it is due to report to the Secretary of State by June 2026.
Read: What happens if a council “goes bust”? Section 114 explained as Bedford faces financial pressure
In plain English, it is scrutiny at the highest level. That scrutiny includes the mayor, the ruling group, the opposition, and the culture set at the top of the organisation.
So no, this should not be waved away as welcome, fine or routine. It is serious, and it should be treated accordingly.
Culture
Yes, it will be uncomfortable, yes, reputations will be tested, and yes, if problems are real, this is the kind of process that can flush them out.
If things have been hidden, this is how they get dragged into the light. If people have failed in their duties, that failure becomes harder to deflect, and if there are deep-rooted problems, this kind of scrutiny can force a reset.
When it comes to funding the things that make a society work, money matters, but culture is what makes a council deliver.
Former council employee Mike Hyden claimed an “inward-looking culture” at Bedford Borough Council has contributed to spiralling costs and failures in complaint handling, describing an environment that “punishes curiosity, rewards defensiveness, and chokes accountability”.
He made these comments on the record at Full Council in November.
Read: Council’s “inward-looking culture” to blame for financial mess claims former employee
Those allegations should not be taken lightly. They describe what many residents feel when they watch the council’s public-facing behaviour: defensive, combative, and too often blamed on someone else.
If that is what has taken hold, then yes, a reset is needed.
Leader or observer?
And now to our mayor, Tom Wootton.
He has welcomed the inspection and has blamed “systemic mismanagement”, saying he wants the chief executive to resign and that what he and his cabinet found on taking office was shocking. The council declined to comment.
I’m going to be blunt, he is not doing himself any favours.
The mayor is not an observer; he is the leader, and the buck also stops with him. If he was genuinely that “horrified” by what he and his executive found when he was voted in, why has it taken until now, almost three years into his mayoral role, for this to be said with such force?
And why does it seem as though he believes the problem sits everywhere except with the political leadership?
Deflection like that risks sounding like he believes he is blameless in a failing system.
That will worry residents, but if the comments across social media, including the mayor’s own pages, are to be believed, Bedfordians have decided almost universally that they won’t be fooled.
Mr mayor, welcoming scrutiny is the easy part. Any leader can say they support an inspection once it is already happening.
Read: Bedford Borough Council told to tighten spending and boost income to avoid Section 114 notice
The test is whether you accept that the spotlight falls on you as well, and whether you are prepared to be judged on your own decisions, your own judgment, and the culture you have led since taking office.
If the message from the top is that failure lives everywhere else, then that is not leadership; it is blame management.
There is also a basic point that cannot be dodged. Big political decisions are made by politicians, not officers. Yes, the previous administration made mistakes; they have questions to answer over decisions that have a financial cost, too.
Read: Failed lease of former pub leads to hefty bill for Bedford Borough taxpayers
But you’re in charge now, and you also have to take ownership of some decisions.
Oasis Beach Pool was refurbished with £500,000 and later closed, with the site put up for sale.
Read: Mayor clashes with opposition as Councillors agree to close Oasis Beach Pool
The former Debenhams building was bought for close to £2 million and is costing taxpayers around £450,000 a year in running and borrowing costs, even though it remains largely empty.
Read: Mayor rejects calls to sell former Debenhams building costing taxpayers £450,000 each year
You cannot celebrate big calls when they are politically popular, and then retreat into blaming the system when the consequences are ugly.
Centre of the Universal
This matters because Bedford is on the brink of significant change. The council itself has pointed to national priorities landing here, including East West Rail and the Universal Studios theme park, as well as major infrastructure and housebuilding.
That is the kind of moment that demands a serious, functional, collaborative council. Instead, we have a council that too often looks stuck in a permanent argument, where personal and political glory come before public service.
This cannot be a period where leaders talk like spectators. The Conservative mayor and his executive need to stop posturing and start owning their mistakes.
And for all councillors, across all parties, it is time to get over the point-scoring and sour grapes and work together.
Full Council and committees should be used for scrutiny and solutions, not personal showboating. Outrage for outrage’s sake is not a policy.
Daylight needs to be let in so the truth can shine, and if that truth shows that councillors and officers alike have not served Bedford properly, I hope those responsible do the right thing, just as the mayor has called on others to do.
If they won’t, then this process needs to force change, because Bedfordians have had enough.
